Ep. 92: The Agony of the European Restaurant

92

The Culture Department go to the inexpensive Ginyotei European restaurant for breaded oysters (カキフライ, 牡蠣フライ, kaki furai) but find the chef Nakazato despondent. He believes that he cannot compete with the well-known owner/chef of Restaurant Che Murono, Hiroy Murono who also grew up in Sendai. Yamaoka goes to Che Murono to sample the French-inspired food and orders oysters (namagaki) and brings his own nihonshu (日本酒) rather than order the restaurant's wine. When Murono objects, Yamaoka insists that they eat and drink together to test his palate. Yamaoka proves that the nihonshu tastes better after eating raw oysters because the French wines contain more organic acid and salt which taste fine before eating raw seafood, but are less palatable when drunk afterwards. Yamaoka convinces Murono to visit Ginyotei for kaki furai and he is impressed by the tasty dish and combination of flavors, restoring Nakazato's confidence. (Source: Wikipedia)